Outrage as embassy worker on trial

Relations between the UK and Iran have hit a new low when a senior British embassy worker was put on trial in a move condemned as an "outrage" by the Foreign Office.

Hossein Rassam was seen in a Tehran court as part of a mass trial of individuals accused of inciting anti-government unrest against last month's disputed presidential election.

The UK said it was seeking an urgent explanation from the Iranian authorities of the move which it said directly contradicted assurances given by senior officials.

Mr Rassam, the embassy's chief political analyst, was one of nine officials arrested in the wake of the protests against the re-election of president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He was the last to be released - on payment of bail of around 100,000 US dollars - and the only one to face charges, reported to be of espionage and harming national security.

Iran has blamed Britain, along with the US and other foreign powers, of stirring dissent and actively fomenting the demonstrations which are ongoing despite brutal crackdowns.

A prosecutor told the court the two countries were bent on a "soft overthrow," it was reported.

Foreign journalists were barred from attending the proceedings but the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported what it said was Mr Rassam's testimony.

Embassy staff had been ordered to be present in the riots, he was said to have told the court, alongside two diplomats named as Tom Burn and Paul Blemey. The Foreign Office would not confirm that those were the names of diplomats expelled by Iran last month, triggering a tit-for-tat retaliation by the UK.

According to IRNA, Mr Rassam, an Iranian national, told the court a £300,000 budget had been allocated to establishing contacts with political groups ahead of the election, including Mir Hossein Mousavi, the reformist opposition candidate who claims he was robbed of victory.

The Foreign Office said it was awaiting news from the British ambassador before commenting on the reports of evidence but hit out at the decision to try the employee. "This is completely unacceptable and directly contradicts assurances we had been given repeatedly by senior Iranian officials," a spokeswoman said. "We deplore these trials and the so-called confessions of prisoners who have been denied their basic human rights. Our Ambassador in Tehran has demanded early clarification of the position from the Iranian authorities. We will then decide on how to respond to this latest outrage."